ABSTRACT
Work defines men. When young boys are asked the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’, the answer is not a general statement like ‘a loving person’, but rather a job title like ‘an engineer’, ‘a pilot’, ‘a policeman’, or a ‘businessman’. When asked, ‘Who are you?’ a man will respond, ‘I am a carpenter,’ or ‘I am a machinist.’ Men’s work plays a key role in the construction of their identities and often includes more than a job. For many men their most important work lies outside their jobs-building their own home, raising money for a church, supporting a theatre group, or writing a novel-and gives their lives purpose. Men take great pride in their work and identify themselves with the goals they set in the world of work.
